


you make my heart shake

by mahoun



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 19:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7477065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahoun/pseuds/mahoun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>jaehwan has the biggest crush of his life. taekwoon is oblivious.<br/>hongbin and wonshik? well, they're here to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you make my heart shake

"he's so hot," jaehwan whispers with a sigh, eyes loaded with the same amount of dreamy that's oozing from his words.  
"you said that at least ten times in the past thirty minutes," wonshik slumps his back against the bench, visibly exhausted. "we get it, he's hot. now what?"  
"he's not even _that_ hot, if you ask me," hongbin chimes in, and both jaehwan and wonshik roll their eyes in unison.  
hongbin's the kind of friend who's always on your case with his unhelpful opinions and snide remarks, not to mention an exceptionally sharp tongue to boot.  
jaehwan loves him.  
"shut up, hongbin. you have shit taste anyway."  
wonshik's the one that comes to the rescue, always trying to lift jaehwan up (albeit his manners can be debatable at times) and to tear hongbin apart.  
they're always bickering, those two, and jaehwan is sure that he'll see them fall in love one day.  
and get married, probably. they look like they're into that kind of heterosexual shit.  
"fuck off."  
"you fuck off, lee hongbin!"  
"can you two stop flirting and just talk about how hot he is?" jaehwan scoffs, accompanying hongbin's outraged "flirting? i would _never_ flirt with this caveman!" with an exaggerated eyeroll.  
"he's like, the hottest guy i've ever seen," jaehwan says, determined to ignore his best friends' lame bickering to focus on dying over his crush.  
"he's sooo dreamy. and sweet. and perfect." he sighs yet another time, hands cupped around his face, looking at the boys running about in the soccer field until he's singled one of them out.  
the most unique, the most handsome, the best player.  
"you don't even know him!"  
"i bumped into him in the hallway _one time_ ," jaehwan can tell by the way hongbin is elbowing wonsik that they're making fun of him, but he doesn't care. he's gonna pay them back tenfold when they'll finally start dating.  
"he was so nice! he asked me if i was okay and his voice was like," he pauses for a second, cursing at the other team's lineman who just sneaked them a goal.  
"what was it like," wonshik asks, voice deep with concern. it's as if he's talking to some small, weird animal that could bite his nose off at any moment instead of his best friend.  
"it was like a flock of birds singing for my ears only," jaehwan finally says, accompanying his words with the umpteenth hummed sigh.  
"oh my god. oh my god. oh my god." wonshik rattles the words off like a mantra, looking dead in the eyes.  
he'd make a shitty actor, jaehwan thinks, but a rather charming boyfriend. hongbin's gonna be so lucky.  
"he's gone, wonshik, let him be."  
"i can't believe we lost our best friend to a dumb football player." wonshik brings a hand to his face, shaking his head off as if he'd been crying.  
"you mean exceptionally handsome."  
"yeah, whatever."

when taekwoon scores a goal, jaehwan almost bites his whole hand off so he doesn't shout too loud.  
he runs towards his teammates, holding his hands up in sign of victory, tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth.  
he's so cute jaehwan has to muffle another scream in the back of his throat.  
"oh my god, he's so hot" he says, frantic, eyes batting in the slowest of ways so he doesn't miss a single movement, basking in the perfect side view of his calves and toned legs.  
"he looks like a wet dog," hongbin shrugs, as tactless as ever; jaehwan doesn't even bother acknowledging it.  
"shut up hongbin," wonshik retorts, "he really is kinda cute."  
"see?" jaehwan kisses wonshik on the cheek, something that makes wonshik laugh in glee and lightly elbow him in the ribs.  
hongbin scoffs and looks away; jaehwan knows the reason all too well.  
then taekwoon's eyes fall on the bleachers, scanning through the crowd of first and second years; that's when he smiles, a warm, knowing smile that has some kind of natural shyness to it.  
and jaehwan forgets to breathe for what feels like a hundred seconds.

✯

jaehwan's woken up by the distant sound of the school bell and a slap to his ear.  
"ouch!"  
"you fucking deserve it, loser," he can hear the affection in hongbin's voice, see it behind his curled lips. he's grateful to have a friend like him, really.  
"i put your stuff into the backpack already, let's go."  
jaehwan really does love him.  
"what about wonshik?"  
"he must be chasing around some sophomore girl," hongbin says, rolling his eyes. "or guy. that horny loser."  
jaehwan puts his arm around him and pats his back, laughing.  
"it's gonna be okay, lee hongbin! i promise he'll notice you one day!"  
"fuck off." hongbin says, but doesn't deny it; he just blushes a little harder.  
"i love you."  
"i love you too, asshole."

hongbin's house has been jaehwan's second home since high school started.  
hongbin keeps a box full of jaehwan's stuff beside the drawer - a couple changes of underwear, a spare toothbrush, two plain t-shirts. also a few comics, for emergencies.  
he comes in and takes his shoes off, yelling "i'm here, mrs. lee!" before rushing to hug hongbin's mom as her actual son watches to the side, annoyed.  
"i love your mom," jaehwan says as he happily pounces onto the bed, his body feeling pleasantly tired.  
"don't you even dare," hongbin shoots him a sideways look. if looks could roast you alive, jaehwan would be the day's main meal at the lee household by now.  
"i didn't mean _that_ ," jaehwan barely misses the slipper flying at him, ducking with a pro move. "i love your mom in a, _i'm grateful that she gave birth to my best friend and lets my sorry ass in her house all the time_ way."  
"that's way better."

they're deep into a dragonball rewatch when hongbin's phone buzzes, and they both know who it is from the ringtone.  
"don't fucking laugh," hongbin points at jaehwan menacingly, his cheeks growing redder with shame by the second.  
"it's just so funny," jaehwan rolls on the floor, mimicking the words of the song with emphasis.  
_near, faaaaaar, wherever you are..._  
"he fucking set it himself," hongbin sends a ball of paper flying at jaehwan before he decides that it's time to answer.  
"i think that's his confession," jaehwan winks and gets hit by another piece of paper right in his face.

apparently wonshik ditched them to hang with this junior he sort of knows, hakyeon.  
("he _totally_ has a crush on him," hongbin announces dimly, crouching with his head between his arms.  
"hakyeon is way too hot to pay attention to him tho-" hongbin doesn't even let jaehwan finish before he tackles him to the ground, tickling him in all the spots he knows too well.  
"what are you trying to imply, asshole?")  
well, turns out that hakyeon and his friends are also friends with taekwoon.  
and wonshik snitched on them so that jaehwan can casually run into him.  
he puts a hand to his heart; it's racing.  
he truly has the best friends in the whole world.

"hey guys! what are you doing here?" wonshik announces them with the loudest voice, waving energetically.  
(he makes sure no one's watching before he sends them an oddly shaped wink, and hongbin pretends to gag.)  
"hi," jaehwan says, eyes scanning the little crowd until he finds taekwoon, smoking with his back leaning against a wall.  
jaehwan's eyes light up in excitement. not because he's smoking, well, not entirely; he's not even into smoking himself. it's just that this is the first time he really sees him outside of school, outside of the soccer field, and it feels like he's finally fit a piece into the puzzle called jung taekwoon.  
"these are my friends," wonshik introduces them to the little group of boys hanging outside the stadium.  
it takes jaehwan this to notice how much different wonshik is from him and hongbin.  
not just because he looks older, and fits well with the crowd of third years; but because he's charming, a natural talker. he looks at the way his hands move as he talks, the way the other boys seem captured by what he's saying, nothing but mere introductions and formalities.  
he steals a look at hongbin next to him. he's pouting; he must've noticed too.  
"so you guys are freshmen?" hakyeon beams at them, tilting his head to the side.  
it makes jaehwan's heart speed up a bit, his tongue dry out in his mouth.  
he doesn't know if wonshik really has a crush on him, but he would definitely understand him if he did.  
"y-yeah, me and hongbin are in the same class," he babbles. he feels hot and stuffy, and he wants to get away from this hakyeon guy as fast as possible. "wonshik transferred classes a while ago, but we hang out all the time."  
hakyeon laughs and pats him on the shoulder.  
"it's a pleasure to meet you guys."

wonshik is gone in a matter of a few minutes, probably disappeared in some allway to kiss hakyeon's pretty lips swollen.  
jaehwan doesn't have the heart to voice his thoughts out loud, a moping hongbin slumped on the stairs beside him.  
"this fucking sucks. i feel like a candle."  
"what the hell does that mean?" jaehwan pats him on the knee, laughing.  
he probably says it way too much, but he really does love hongbin a lot.  
he wishes he knew how to make him feel better.  
"you know, a candle." hongbin looks at him, dead serious. "a candle is lonely. everyone around it is having fun with each other except for the poor candle."  
"makes sense."  
"i'm a candle." hongbin announces, slumping his back even further down the step.  
"can't believe i'm talking to a candle right now," jaehwan laughs, looking at the group of people chatting a few steps beneath them.  
"really makes you think, huh?"  
"truly."

jaehwan is too absorbed into his talks with hongbin to notice what's going on next to him; he notices hongbin's gaping eyes first, his head nodding to the side, telling him to turn around.  
next to him, taekwoon is checking his phone, sitting with his legs spread out; so long they occupy several steps.  
jaehwan swallows, heart drumming loud in his chest.  
then taekwoon puts his phone away, looks right at him. he smiles.  
"hi."  
"ah... hi."  
"i always see you guys at the games," he says, chewing on his bottom lip a little.  
jaehwan is about to die. he looks so cute like that, casual clothes that fit him better than any uniform could do, his cute, full lips just a few inches away from jaehwan's reach.  
he mentally shakes his head. he really needs to collect himself.  
"you see... us?" not the other way around?  
"you guys are always so enthusiastic," he says, laughing. his laugh is so beautiful, changes up his features completely; he looks younger than his 19 years, young and soft and jaehwan wants to wrap his arms around him.  
"my eyes naturally fall on you when i look to the bleachers."  
"wow," hongbin says, filling in the gap when jaehwan should've replied.  
"you know, this guy is really into soccer," hongbin continues, pushing jaehwan a bit closer to taekwoon. "you should probably teach him, you know, some stuff."  
"w-what... no..." jaehwan is sure that his cheeks and ears and whole body are on fire by now, and all he wants is to disappear. also kiss taekwoon, but that doesn't seem like a good idea.  
"sure," taekwoon chuckles, and jaehwan thinks that this is the luckiest day of his whole life.  
"i actually think i know you?" taekwoon says, voice humming low and tentative. "aren't you from class 1-B?"  
"y-yeah..."  
"jae... um... jaehwan?" he says, biting his bottom lip.  
"r-right..." jaehwan would've died on the spot if it wasn't for hongbin sternly elbowing him in the back. it feels like a _"you fucking sly fox, leaving me to be a candle again!"_  
"good." taekwoon smiles, a little lick of lips that could be read as nervousness.  
"shall we go?"

jaehwan soon learns that taekwoon's laughter is the most beautiful sound he's ever heard.  
he laughs way more than he'd ever imagined - chuckles when jaehwan kicks the ball the wrong way, bursts into the loudest laugh when jaehwan calls him "the most pretentious coach i've ever met".  
"you're really cute," taekwoon says in passing, barely a whisper against his ear, making jaehwan's hair stand up.  
he's too dizzy to realize that taekwoon used his distraction to get the ball from him, snatching him a goal.  
"that was sly!" jaehwan protests, loud and pouting, face still flushed deep red from the compliment.  
"sorry," taekwoon says, chewing on his lip again. it's a very cute habit of his, jaehwan notes, and then he curses his mind for thinking about how he'd like to nibble on it himself.

they're heading back when taekwoon breaks the silence, his voice soft and mellow like the setting sky above them.  
"you know... i really meant that,"  
"mmh?" jaehwan comes down from his thoughts, heart beating fast and ears buzzing.  
"that you're cute," he says, looking away from jaehwan. "i really think you are."

✯

"so, what happened?" hongbin interrogates him later, and jaehwan doesn't even know where to begin.  
did anything even happen? didn't he just imagine everything?  
how could taekwoon even tell him... _that_. that surely couldn't be real life.  
"i don't wanna tell!" jaehwan sticks his tongue out, trying to break away from the chokehold hongbin is keeping him in.  
"you gotta."

"so he's in love with you," hongbin says very seriously, stuffing another cookie in his still chewing mouth.  
"that's the conclusion you got to?" jaehwan shouts, ears all red.  
"that, and that he wants to make out with you,"  
"shut up," jaehwan hides his head into the pillow, muffling a thousand nervous screams.  
"and stick his gross wet dog tongue inside your mouth..." hongbin finishes the sentence by sticking his tongue out, flicking it repeatedly in a telling way that makes jaehwan blush.  
"i fucking hate you," he says, burying his face into the pillow even further.  
"i love you too, _jock fucker_."

✯

"so about that hakyeon guy..." hongbin says at lunch, nibbling on his lip.  
"what about him?" wonshik asks, cheeks puffed while he chews on a mouthful of sandwich.  
hongbin coughs, trying to look as calm and disinterested as possible.  
"he... he's pretty hot," he finally blurts out.  
it probably costed him an internal struggle to say that. jaehwan is pretty proud of him.  
"oh wow, tell me something i don't know!"  
"asshole."  
wonshik puts his sandwich down, wiping the corners of his mouth with a finger.  
"if you think you have a chance with him, forget it," he says, turning serious all of a sudden.  
"why, are you screwing him already?" hongbin looks like he could bite his head off, and jaehwan wishes he could just tell him to slow down.  
"what, _me_? i fucking wish," wonshik laughs bitterly, eyes down.  
"you do?"  
"i mean," he pauses, shifting so he sits in a more comfortable position, "i would probably sell my liver to kiss someone so pretty, let alone fuck."  
hongbin rolls his eyes, and jaehwan can already tell he's gonna have to cheer him up with pizza and games later. not that he minds.  
"good thing there's no chance of it happening," wonshik laughs, "my liver is safe."  
"i really thought you two had something going on," jaehwan decides to say, just to make sure. "you know, you disappearing together for hours and all."  
"that's none of your business," wonshik retorts, earning a incredulous _wow_ from hongbin. "also, i heard that you and ronaldo are basically dating."  
jaehwan is pretty sure that his ears and his whole body are catching fire.  
"shut up, we're not!"  
"also," he lowers his voice, "don't make fun of taekwoon."  
"he's gone," wonshik says with a giggle.  
"he's gone," hongbin repeats. "let him be."

✯

the next time he sees taekwoon it's a few days later, a chilly friday with too many hours of math and way too few bathroom breaks.  
he's sitting on the staircase that fronts onto the courtyard when taekwoon walks past; he wants to call him but feels too shy to.  
but taekwoon sees him, smiles that pretty, gentle smile that makes jaehwan's heart race.  
"come with me?" he says, waving at him.  
jaehwan doesn't even give him the time to ask again.

they walk past the courtyard, through the soccer field and past the gym building until taekwoon decides to sit down, slumping his back against the wall.  
"why here?" jaehwan asks, looking around. there's just grass and more grass, and the old, abandoned junior high building.  
"no one ever comes here," taekwoon says, a little smirk on his lips. it makes him look like a kid, and it makes jaehwan's heart thump faster than ever.  
"want a smoke?" he offers jaehwan a cigarette (which he politely refuses) before lighting one for himself, smoking it silently.  
they just sit side by side for a while, not talking - something that feels odd to jaehwan, but he gets used to it soon enough.  
there's no need to talk with the breeze lingering so sweetly against his cheeks, making his skin tickle just like the leaves swaying by on the apple tree in front of him.  
it's just him, the sun reflecting off of taekwoon's ear piercings - and taekwoon.  
his eyes fall on taekwoon's fingers, linger on his pretty, white knuckles, silently studying the way he holds his cigarette, the movements he does to bring it to his lips.  
he hopes that taekwoon won't notice; hopes that he won't hear the drowning sound his heart makes every time his lips curl the littlest bit, every time his hand lightly brushes against jaehwan's own.  
he hopes that if he does, he won't mind - and there's something in his heart telling him that taekwoon doesn't mind at all.

"so he invited you over," hongbin says from the receiver, and there's enough malice in his voice for jaehwan to guess what he's trying to imply.  
"shut up, it's not like that!" he yells, hongbin's swift hey letting him know that he was a bit too eager to fire back.  
"that scream of yours almost got my hearing, you idiot!" hongbin says with a look of disapproval that jaehwan can just feel on him, even through the phone.  
"the fact that you got so up in arms over a simple fact says so much..."  
"shut up," jaehwan says embarrassed, more than likely red from head to toe.  
"are you gonna jump on him, you little slut?"  
"fuck you."  
"i love you too, stupid."

✯

it's 5 in the afternoon and the air in the room feels tense ("it's from all the pent up sexual tension!" hongbin's voice yells loud and jarring in his head, and jaehwan sighs at the thought of having to deal with hongbin's inappropriate remarks even when he's not physically there.), jaehwan sitting on the floor just a few inches from taekwoon, seemingly unable to move or initiate conversation.  
"so," taekwoon goes, tentative. "what do you want to do?"  
the afternoon sun filtrating from the shutters reflects on taekwoon's cheekbones, giving his skin an ethereal glow.  
_“what i want to do?”_ jaehwan thinks, senses too dulled by taekwoon's beauty to form a coherent thought and put it into words.  
_i want to kiss you, i want to kiss you, i want to kiss you._  
his lips on taekwoon's bow-shaped ones are all he can think about and _damn_ , hongbin was right, all he wants is to jump on him and make out til his teeth fall off.  
("ew," his inner hongbin voice comments, and he has to agree with it. he's really hit rock bottom this time.)  
"um," taekwoon clears his throat, and jaehwan feels like he's missed something.  
"i said, mario kart or smash bros?"  
"ah!" jaehwan mentally curses himself, wondering just how dumb he looks and if taekwoon can tell that he's been staring at him and _he's never gonna invite me over again, dammit_.  
"smash bros will be fine."  
taekwoon pushes the compact disk into his console, giving him a mischievous smile.  
"that was a wrong choice, i'm gonna kick your ass."

"i told you i was gonna kick your ass!"  
"come on!" jaehwan whines in the most theatrical way, flailing his controller around and pouting.  
"it's not fair, i don't have this game home and you're more trained than i am and i-"  
the words die in his throat the moment he registers just how close taekwoon's face is to his own, so close he can feel his breath on him for a moment.  
he's staring at him - _why is he staring at him?_ \- and jaehwan just can't take his eyes off of taekwoon's face, off of those perfectly long lashes that flutter right back at him.  
he can hear his heartbeat drum loud and clear in his ears and he wonders if for taekwoon is the same, if he can hear it too and if he'll make fun of him for it.  
taekwoon's hand is on his shoulder ( _he's touching him! why is he touching him?_ ) and before he realizes what's going on their lips meet in a sweet, chaste kiss that sends tingles through his whole body.  
taekwoon's giddy smile after they part quickly fades away, a little frown taking its place.  
"i... i'm sorry," he says, voice so soft jaehwan thinks he's imagining it.  
"was that too fast? maybe i misunderstood everything, ah, i'm so stupid..."  
jaehwan can't believe that this is happening, can't believe that taekwoon is apologizing to him for real, that he kissed him and that his lips felt so cool and soft on his own and-  
"no," he says, tugging at taekwoon's sleeve. he chews on his lower lip, a wave of embarrassment hitting him at full speed.  
"you didn't misunderstand," he starts, looking anywhere but at taekwoon's face. "i was just surprised."  
he gives himself some courage (his inner hongbin voice is pretty much fed up with him at this point, spitting out curse words that jaehwan didn't even know existed) and looks up at taekwoon only to see him smile; a shy, content smile that makes his heart skip a beat.  
"does that mean that you like me too?" he asks, fiddling nervously with the fabric of his shirt.  
he looks so cute like that, shy and vulnerable in ways that jaehwan never thought taekwoon could be, and all jaehwan wants to do is eat him up like a serving of ice cream.  
"what do you mean i like you too?" jaehwan laughs - it's really all he can do now - and elbows taekwoon in the knee.  
"of course i like you. i've been liking you from afar for ages."  
taekwoon's face is several shades of red at this point, and it makes jaehwan giggle and blush in return.  
"my best friends are tired of me gushing over you all the time! they're gonna be so happy to know that-" he bites his lips, overwhelmed by a sudden rush of emotions. "you... you like me. because you do, right?"  
taekwoon's expression softens, the edges of his mouth curving into a sweet, fond smile. "i do. like... a lot."  
"how much is a lot?" jaehwan asks jokingly, feeling silly yet high from whatever's happening - from taekwoon's fingers threading into his hair, from his mouth so close to his he can almost taste it.  
"a lot is a lot." taekwoon says when they part, licking his lips in what jaehwan knows it's an habit, yet still manages to make him blush.  
"a lot is not enough if you don't let me win at mario kart!"  
"hmm," taekwoon says with a grin, "i'm gonna save that for when we're married."

✯

"so you're basically married now." hongbin says flatly, not even taking the time to look up from his phone.  
"shut up!" jaehwan's face is in flames, voice high pitched and annoying more than he thought it was physically possible.  
"you're just jealous anyway!"  
he regrets saying that almost immediately, hongbin's scornful gaze piercing him like a rain of glass shards.  
"jealous of what, exactly?" he says, biting.  
jaehwan opens his mouth to speak, leaving it agape when the familiar melody starts playing.  
_near, faaaaaar, wherever you are..._  
"don't you fucking try!" hongbin barks, voice so shrill it might as well be an ultrasound.  
"you're just jealous because you and wonshikkie are not making o-"  
it only takes a moment for hongbin's fist to land on his head, not hitting hard enough to hurt but still enough to get the message through.  
"just let me live for a second, jock fucker."

✯

"i'm gonna kick your ass again!" taekwoon says, settling into a blue kart next to jaehwan's pink one.  
"i wouldn't bet on it!" jaehwan sticks his tongue out at him, feigning offense.  
it's a sunny may afternoon and jaehwan's heart is beating louder than ever as he crashes his kart against the rail, taekwoon speeding past him with a grin.  
"told you i was gonna destroy you!"  
"you're a cheat," jaehwan says as he gets off his kart, sporting the most ridiculously angry pout that a guy can manage. "it's just _not human_. it's not normal for someone to win a race five times in a row."  
"it actually is, when your boyfriend's a dweeb."  
jaehwan doesn't even try to protest, too stunned by the fact that _taekwoon! called me! his boyfriend!_ to do anything about the offense.  
"what is it?" taekwoon asks meekly, pink lips slightly parted and pretty eyes set on jaehwan - jaehwan who's full-on panicking now, hands shaky and heart leaping out of his chest.  
"b-b-b-" he stutters, a bony little finger pointing towards himself. " _boyfriend_?"  
taekwoon's gaze falters; he looks so much younger now, pitch black bangs getting in the way of his eyes and thin lips cracked. he chews a little bit on his lower lip, and jaehwan makes a mental note of buying him a chapstick.  
"aren't we... i mean," he hesitates, voice low and insecure. "am i going too fast again?"  
the hurt he sees in taekwoon's eyes makes jaehwan's heart break a little bit and he feels guilty, even though he wants that as much as taekwoon does - if not more.  
"no, i..." he can't help but smile, smile so hard his lips hurt like hell ("when will you drop that gross habit of yours," hongbin tells him every other day, "no one's gonna want to kiss a guy who rips his own lips open!") but he doesn't care.  
taekwoon is here right now, with him - and that's all that matters.  
"i want to be your," he hesitates, the mere thought of that word setting his stomach aflame. "i want to be your boyfriend."  
he keeps his eyes low, too embarrassed to face taekwoon just yet.  
"i was just overwhelmed. i like you so much..."  
he's not prepared to the feeling of taekwoon's arms wrapping around his middle, nor to the way his soft cheeks feel against his own, but he can't complain.  
so he lets taekwoon cup his face between his hands and his eyes fall shut, their lips meeting in the sweetest of ways.  
"i like you more."  
jaehwan doesn't think that's possible, but he decides to let his cute boyfriend ("stop giggling, you stupid!", that's what hongbin would say) win this one time.

jaehwan comes stomping into his first morning class, so giddy and euphoric he lets his books fall on the desk with a thud.  
"he called me the b word!" he yells with way too much enthusiasm into hongbin's ear. "hongbin! wake up!"  
"the b word?" hongbin takes his eyes off his math homework with a knowing grin. "you mean _bitch_?"  
"no, lee hongbin," jaehwan patiently corrects him, his voice ecstatic. "not bitch. _boyfriend_!"  
hongbin scoffs and goes back to his homework, deadpan.  
"this is so disgusting."

✯

jaehwan looks at his phone for the hundredth time, his sweaty hands leaving finger marks on the screen.  
he doesn't even know why he keeps doing that: taekwoon's last text was clear, " _i'm gonna be a little late so don't panic_ ", followed by a bunch of xs and an i love you that made jaehwan's heart do a somersault.  
"i just wish he was here already!" he whines, pouting like a little kid whose promises of toys and treats have been broken.  
it only takes five more minutes for taekwoon to be there, cracking an apologetic smile and taking jaehwan's hands in his with promises of treating him to the best ice cream in the whole country.  
the ice cream is pretty good, but it doesn't even remotely compare to how the wind lightly caresses taekwoon's hair, nor to the way the early afternoon sun paints a glow on his cheekbones.  
and jaehwan soon finds out that ice cream tastes a lot better on taekwoon's tongue, anyway - just like ramyun, coffee, and pretty much anything he's ever had the pleasure of eating.  
"we're having a good time, hm?" taekwoon says with a smile so genuine and happy it makes jaehwan's heart wrench.  
"the best time," he giggles, taking taekwoon's hands in his, their fingers threaded together.  
he really is so happy he could die.

he feels so happy he could die, but he's not going to - he has a lot of things to do, like kissing taekwoon a thousand times more, sleeping in the same bed as him (the mere thought of that making him blush furiously) and make out with him in front of his jealous best friends (because he's that kind of dude).  
"buy me cotton candy, hyung?" he says, pointing to a pretty pink stand on the side of the road.  
taekwoon is pretty much already there by the time jaehwan finishes the sentence, long legs stretched into the biggest stride jaehwan's ever seen.  
"there you go." their fingers brush a little when he hands him the cotton candy, and jaehwan's cheeks burn at the still unfamiliar feeling of taekwoon's skin against his own.  
cotton candy kisses are even better than he thought they would be, the sugary taste on his tongue perfectly mixing with the little pinch of salty on taekwoon's; there's little sticky pieces of it left on the corners of his mouth and taekwoon wipes them away with his tongue before nibbling on his bottom lip.  
"you're so pretty," taekwoon says, his words just a little whisper against jaehwan's skin and jaehwan shivers, leaning in for another kiss.

✯

"he's so hot," jaehwan whispers with a sigh, his big dreamy eyes set on the crowded field.  
"oh god, jaehwan, _we know_ ," hongbin sighs, accompanying his words with an eyeroll way more dramatic than needed. "it's been months now, it's time to drop it."  
"leave him alone, lee hongrinch!"  
" _hongrinch_! that's a new one!" jaehwan bursts into a fit of laughter, clapping his hands together and against his legs alternately.  
"this calls for a high five," wonshik gives him a high five then a fistbump, followed by a routine of ridiculous gestures that only makes hongbin's eyes roll even further to the back of his head.  
"i hate you both."  
"sure you do, princess," wonshik gives a little affectionate ruffle to hongbin's hair and hongbin finally stops talking, his cheeks tinted with streaks of purple.  
jaehwan smiles and hongbin looks at him with a very telling glare, one of those that could murder if only looks had that kind of power.  
"why are you looking at me? your jung taekwoon is in the game!"  
"you don't wanna miss his strong leg like ronaldo scoring a goal, do you?"  
jaehwan throws a ball of paper at his laughing friends, scoffing. as much as he wants to shut them up, he really doesn't want to miss a second of taekwoon's playing.  
he eyes him from afar, those long legs and pitch black mane that he would recognize anywhere, and still can't believe that he's dating that guy.  
he looks perfect from up there, his slender frame running about in the field, and when he gets a pass from his teammate jaehwan just starts yelling.  
"that's _my boyfriend_! _that guy_!" he yells to the second year girls next to him, both seeming shocked by his yelling but rather unimpressed with the news.  
"oh my god, he's gonna score!"  
and he does, _boy if he does_! he kicks the ball with the heel of his foot - jaehwan holds his breath in because he doesn't think he can make it - and it's a goal!  
he stands up with a jump, clapping furiously and yelling "i'm dating that guy!" to everyone in sight, his best friends staring at him with concern.  
"he's gone," hongbin says with an eyeroll.  
"he's gone," wonshik repeats. "let him be."

jaehwan waits for taekwoon after the game, sitting cross-legged on the empty bleachers.  
he perks up like a little puppy whose owner just came back when he sees taekwoon, literally jumping into his arms.  
"don't do that, i'm sweaty and smell like shit." taekwoon huffs, breath heavy, his clothes still damp with sweat.  
"no you don't."  
"mmm," taekwoon whines when jaehwan pulls him closer by his shirt, stealing a little kiss. "don't say i didn't warn you."  
"i can't make promises."

it's five in the afternoon when taekwoon leads him behind the old junior high building, their fingers intertwined and lips searching for the other’s in the damp midsummer afternoon.  
"i never want this to end," is what jaehwan says breathless, between a kiss and another.  
taekwoon leaves a little kiss to his forehead, his hand stroking jaehwan's face like in a daze.  
"it doesn't have to."

**Author's Note:**

> this has been in the works for over a year and finally letting it into the world is so exciting to me, i hope you like it!  
>  i might write a side story for wonshik and hongbin in the future so keep your eyes peeled ♡


End file.
